The metal door creaked open, its hinges protesting. A man in a white lab coat stepped inside as the light blinked to life. The control center beyond appeared neglected, with workstations buried in layers of dust, a ceiling fan locked in place, and the air stale from lack of circulation.

  The man surveyed the damage without surprise, as he noticed the shutters overlooking the cryogenic bay sagged unevenly, each warped and fractured. One window was shattered entirely, as its broken edge framed rows of darkened pods.

  He wiped the dust from the control panel and pressed the power stud. At first, nothing happened. Then, after a moment, a low mechanical hum and the system came alive.

  "Last authorized access was recorded nine months, and nine days ago," the automated voice said.

  "Please verbally provide your identification credentials."

  “Dr. Anthony Vulcan.," he said. "Pine Cove Ultra Initiate."

  "Authorization confirmed," the system replied. "You have forty-nine urgent messages and-"

  "Status report. All pods."

  “All but one pod have suffered a life support system malfunction due to seismic activity. All inhabitants of each pod are considered deceased as of nine months and six days ago.”

  "All except one? Status on active pod."

  “Pod 95 is stable; life support systems are normal." The system relied. "Power has been rerouted to sustain it indefinitely."

  "Define indefinitely."

  "Current projections without external replenishment exeed four centuries."

  “Four centuries," Vulcan Said. "That's unexpected. Run diagnostics."

  “Running diagnostics for pod 95. Please wait..”

  “I’ve got nothing but time.” Dr.Vulcan said, sitting down in a dirty lab chair.

  After five minutes, the diagnostics were complete, and the pod was ready to be opened. Dr. Vulcan attempted to manually reroute some power to the shield barrier to gain access to the area but received a malfunction notice instead. After several failed attempts, he stepped back from the panel.

  He pulled out a radio and called down two maintenance personnel for some assistance. After what felt like an hour, two technicians, accompanied by a security guard, finally entered the control room. They approached Dr.Vulcan and began reviewing the control panel.

  “How long until we can get inside?” He asked.

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  "Hard to say, sir. These shutters were built to withstand a lot of firepower, so it might take a few hours. However, it looks like those earthquakes have shaken everything up. So, the area might be unstable, which could work to our advantage and speed up the process of breaking through, but any excursion inside could be very risky." The tech replied.

  “We have a subject still alive in one of those pods, believe it or not. So time is of the essence here. Please get started.”

  The two technicians got to work on the shutters that were obstructing the entry into the pod area and the control panel itself. Dr. Vulcan stepped back to give them space and struck up a conversation with the security guard as he waited.

  After almost twenty minutes, the technicians managed to make some process. The first barrier began to move, only to collapse, almost bringing down the entire shield system. Shutters began to fall from the walls and ceiling, but they eventually stopped before the rest fell like dominoes.

  “Damn, these shutters are way more unstable than I thought.” One said.

  “Yeah, I often wondered what they were made of; they look sharp.” The other replied.

  “They are made with a very resilient material that could slice open a car, so don’t get caught in its path.” Dr. Vulcan replied.

  “Understood sir. Which pod is this subject in? And would you like me to manually override the life support system? A countdown has just started, according to this monitor.”

  “He is in pod 95. And what countdown?” He asked as he walked forward.

  “That pod is the furthest one away.” The other technician said.

  “Looks like a containment protocol triggered the countdown. T-Minus five minutes until pod shutdown.”

  "Why is there a countdown? Why is it shutting down?"

  The technician hesitated. "Maybe a containment protocol?"

  Vulcan's expression hardened. "Then override it, we need this subject alive."

  "Sir, this protocol authorizes termination if—"

  "Override it,"Vulcan said.

  "Understood"

  Pod 95 remained untouched by the passage of time. Its interior was softly aglow with a white-gray hue. The technician set out to manually open the pod, but he first had to drain the condensation that was inside. The blended chemical concoction within it kept the subject asleep while simultaneously acting as an anti-aging agent.

  As the condensation vented out of the top and dispersed, the unconscious body inside gradually emerged into view through the clearing glass. When Dr. Vulcan gave the technician the all-clear to open the pod, the glass doors vanished behind each side. The safety net of the straps kept the subject strapped in.

  Vapor spilled from the pod and rolled across the floor, like a fog.. Inside, the figure remained motionless, suspended in a pale chemical haze. For a moment, no one spoke.

  “Do you want me to release the straps, sir?”

  “No, the subject should be able to release them on their own once they wake up. I want you to check the intercom systems; we should be able to communicate with them and help navigate them out, assuming they are still functional.”

  The technician tests the intercom system.

  “Yes, Sir. It appears the intercom is still functional throughout the facility and from their particular pod. Though it looks like most are offline or disabled, but there are a handful that are still functional I can turn on. We should be able to use those still functional to communicate with them until they can reach us here.”

  “Great. You’ll be my navigator, get ready; they should be waking up at any moment now. Security, I want you ready to go in there if necessary. There isn’t another way out but here, but just in case they try something, I need you ready to apprehend them. Am I clear?”

  “Yes sir.” They said nervously.

  “Awesome. Okay, let’s see if they are awake, go ahead and speak.”

  “Do they have a name?”

  “Subject 95 for now. Ask him for his name once he responds, if he responds. If he states his name, then use his name.”

  “Subject 95," the technician said into the intercom. "Can you hear us?"